I've prepared a couple of exercise files that you canuse if you're working along with me through the course.If you're a premium member of the lynda.com training library, you candownload the exercise files from the course page on the lynda.com website.If you're not a premium member of this library, then youcan use your own portrait-style photo to follow along with me.After downloading your exercise files and unzipping them if theyare zipped, I suggest that you put them on your desktop.Here, on my desktop, you can see my exercise files folder.

I've clicked the arrow to the left ofthat, to show you that it contains two subfolders.Start with the DNG raw file, that we'll use as we work through the course.And finish with a finished raw version of that file.Which is just for your information purposes, so you cansee where we're heading, as we work with this image.In order to use the exercise files in Lightroom, you have tocreate a Lightroom catalog, and import these photos into your Lightroom catalog.So let's switch over to Lightroom, and make a catalog for these files.Here in Lightroom, to create a new catalog, I'llgo to My File menu, and I'll choose New Catalog.

I'm going to put my new catalog on my desktop.I'll go to the Save As field and I'll give the new catalog a name.I'll call this PortraitEx Files Catalog, and I'll click Create.In just a moment, Lightroom will open with the new catalog.Currently there are no photos in this catalog,so I need to import the exercise files.To do that, as it says here, I'll click the Import button,and that opens the import window.In the import window, I'll choose Select a source.I'll choose Desktop as the source and if it's not already showing in the sourcecolumn, now I'll be able to see my desktop here with the exercise files folder.

Now this is not the portrait xfiles catalog folder, rather the exercise files folder.I'll select the Exercise Files folder.And importantly I'll make sure that includes sub folders is checked, or Iwon't see the files that are in the subfolders inside the exercise files.Here in the center of the import window, I'll seethe two exercise files, the starting portrait and the finished version.It's important that at the top of the import window.Add is highlighted.I don't want to highlight move or copy, or copy as DNG just add.

And then I'll move overto the right side of this window, and if theFile Handling panel isn't open, I'll click on it's title bar.And from the Render Previews menu, I'm going to choose One to One.And then all I have to do is come down tothe bottom of the column on the right, and click Import.You'll see a progress bar as Lightroom imports those twofiles, leaving them at their current location on the desktop.When it imports this file, it's simply making a recordof the file in its database.If you want to learn more about importing, take a look at mycourse in the lynda.com training library called Up and Running with Lightroom 5.

But for now it's enough to know that the exercise files havebeen imported into the new Lightroom exercise files catalog that we made.In the Lightroom library you can see athumbnail of the starting portrait, and the finished portrait.And over on the left side of the library, you'll see a Folders panel.If your Folders panel isn't open like this.Then click its title bar.In the Folders panel you'll see the name of your harddrive with a green light meaning that that's the active hard drive.And under that you'll see a folder labelled exercise files.

Click the arrow to the left of the exercise files folder and you'llsee those two subfolders inside of Lightroomthat we saw earlier on the desktop.The finish folder which contains.The finished version ofthe portrait. I'll make that bigger.So, you can see it better.And, the start folder which contains theimage labelled simply portrait and that's theone you are going to start withand continue to work with throughout the course.If you don't see the name of the file here,portrait, then press j on your keyboard a couple of times.To see the view of the thumbnails that includes the file name.

To work along with me on this photoin the develop module, just click once on this thumbnail toselect it, and then click Develop or press d on your keyboard.And the photo will appear here in the develop module, ready forus to work on as we enhance this young woman's portrait in Lightroom.

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Released

11/13/2013

When you're starting with a beautiful subject, you already have the makings of a great photograph. Lightroom allows you to make subtle image adjustments that take it to the next level. Learn how to enhance a portrait of a young woman in this short start-to-finish retouching project with lynda.com author Jan Kabili. Jan will show you how to optimize tone and color, hide blemishes, brighten eyes, whiten teeth, add contour, and enhance hair.